The Commissioner's Cup
by The Commissioner
Summary: Join Ash as he partakes in a brand new adventure! He'll visit different regions before competing in an international tournament battling against old rivals and allies. Will Ash prevail or will he fall short? The only way to find out is to read. And don't forget to leave a review saying what you think. Story gets better a few chapters in.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon.**

Chapter One

It was a bright and early day as Ash Ketchum returned to Pallet Town from his Unova journey. After completing another regional league, Ash was ready to relax at home and then start off on another challenge.

"Boy Pikachu, it sure is nice to be home!"

"Pi-pikachu!"

"Ash!"

"Yeah mom?"

"You got a letter in the mail."

"A letter, huh. Weird."

Ash grabbed the letter from Delia and opened it up. He was shocked to discover that the letter contained a DVD. He then ran to the living room and stuck the disc into the DVD player that Delia had recently bought. On the screen appeared a tall man with raven black hair. He was wearing black pants and shoes, a black shirt, and a white coat that reached just above his ankles. Standing next to him was the canine like pokémon Lucario. They were standing in a large stadium surrounded by empty seats.

"Greetings trainer! My name is Commissioner Gowly, the head of the international pokémon league. You, yes you, have been invited to attend a new tournament that I am hosting: The Commissioner's Cup. The Commissioner's Cup is scheduled to take place ten years from when I was crowned commissioner of the league. This tournament is going to both commemorate my accomplishment and the power of the next generation of pokémon trainers. That's right, only teenaged trainers have been invited. However, an invitation isn't all you need. You must also obtain ten commissioner coins. I have randomly selected five regions. Two gyms in each of those regions are not only carrying a badge, but are also carrying a coin. You must defeat the leader in order to obtain the coin. Even if you've already defeated the leader, I promise you that they've become tougher. Ready? The gyms are the Cerulean and Saffron gyms in Kanto, the Ectucreak and Blackthorn gyms in Johto, the Petalburg and Fortree gyms in Hoenn, the Canalave and Sunnyshore gym in Sinnoh, and the Driftveil and Icurrus gyms in Unova. What are you waiting for? You've got one year before the Commissioner' Cup start. Go get your coins. Then you can participate in the tournament which is scheduled to take place here at the Battle Coliseum. Hop to it!"

With that the screen became blank, and Ash thought to himself that he had found his new adventure.

"Pikachu, are we gonna win this tournament or what?"

"Pika!"

"Ash, you might want to talk to Professor Oak to see if he has more information."

"Okay Mom."

And so Ash made his way through Pallet town towards the Oak Research Lab. On the way he realized that he would have to sprint through the five regions. He wouldn't have time to train a brand new team. Ash would have to use the most powerful pokémon that he already trained.

"Pikaka."

Ash was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't realize that he had already arrived at Oak's lab. Ash knocked on the door to the lab. Moments later, Tracey opened the door.

"Hey Ash! What's up?"

"Oh hi Tracey. I was invited to participate in a tournament, and I hoped that the professor could give me some insight."

"Sure Ash. I'll go get Professor Oak. Feel free to hang out with your pokémon out back. We'll meet you there."

"Ok Tracey. Thanks."

As Ash made his way to the Oak Corral, Pikachu jumped off his shoulder and ran ahead to catch up with some old friends. When Ash stepped out into the corral, there was a stampede as his Tauros rushed at him. Jumping out of the way, Ash was tackled to the ground by his Bayleef.

"Hey guys. It's nice to see you too."

There was an orchestra of pokémon names as all of Ash's pokémon greeted him.

"Guys, I have some big news. There's a new tournament that we're participating in and this time, I'm not starting over. I'm taking six pokémon with me. So who wants to come?"

All of Ash's pokémon responded in the affirmative.

"Now what do I do? I can't take all of them."

"I can help with that Ash."

"Hello Professor!"

"So Ash. I heard that you were invited to participate in the Commissioner's Cup. Right?"

"That's right Professor."

"Well then, do you know what gyms you'll conquer first?"

"The gyms in Kanto because they're closer. I think I'll head to Cerulean through Mt. Moon and then I'll go to Saffron. From there, I'll catch a ferry to Johto."

"Sound smart Ash. Why don't you take pokémon that will help you beat Misty and Sabrina? When you get to Johto, you can always exchange pokémon."

"Sound like a plan. I guess I'll take Sceptile, Leavanny, Krookodile, Heracross, Charizard, and Pikachu of course. Misty won't know what hit her!"

"Okay Ash. I guess you're ready to head out. Call me if you need anything."

"Thanks Professor."

And so Ash headed out on his new adventure, but first:

"Sweetie, here's a bag packed with clothes and don't forget to change your you know whats every day!"

"Mom!"


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

A few days later finds our hero entering Pewter City in northern Kanto. As Ash entered the city, he couldn't help but wonder how Brock was doing. _Let's see. The last time I saw Brock was when I left Sinnoh. He said that he would be attending pokémon medical school here in Pewter. I might as well visit him. _And so Ash made his way to the Pewter gym.

"I told you trainers already. We don't have any Commissioner Coins! Cerulean gym is the closest gym that has a coin."

"Uh, hello Flint."

"Pikaka, Chuchu!"

"Oh. Ash, is that you? It's good to see you. Sorry about the rude greeting. Most trainers assume that all the gyms have a coin to offer. Say, are you participating in the Commissioner's Cup?"

"Yep. But, I'm here to visit Brock. I was passing through Pewter to get to Cerulean anyway."

"Sure. Give me a sec while I call Brock. BROCK!" Flint shouted at the top of his lungs.

"God Dad. Calm down. I'm coming. Ash!"

"What's up Brock?"

"Pichu ka!"

"I'm almost down with medical school. I just need to get practical experience to get my degree. I have to travel to five different regions and heal pokémon."

"Why don't you come with me and Pikachu? I'm participating in the Commissioner's Cup so I have to travel through Kanto, Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh, and Unova. You can travel with me, heal our pokémon, and get your degree."

"That's a great idea Ash. I'll go pack."

And so the pair plus Pikachu made their way out of Pewter and headed to Mt. Moon. After getting lost and running around Mt. Moon for a long time, our heroes entered Cerulean City. As they made their way to the gym, Ash and Brock discussed strategies for taking down Misty.

"Well, Misty tends to do three on three battles and her signature pokémon is Gyarados. So you're going to need electric and grass types."

"Perfect, I have Pikachu, Sceptile, and Leavanny."

"Leavanny?"

"It's a bug/grass type pokémon I trained in Unova. He's really strong and will be useful against Misty and Sabrina."

"Good thinking Ash. Finally planning out your battles beforehand."

"Brock! I'll have you know I always plan out my battles."

"And that's why you always improvise?"

"Look, I've gotten better. I know what I'm doing."

"Good. You now have a chance of winning the Commissioner's Cup."

"Whatever."

And so they entered the gym. It looked the same as it had before. Swimming in the pool was Misty and her Azurill. She still had her weird side ponytail and she was wearing a red one piece swimsuit. Misty quickly exited the pool when she noticed Brock and Ash.

"Hey guys! I haven't seen you in a while. Ash, you've gotten taller. You're not a midget anymore!"

"Misty!" Ash whined.

"Hello Misty." Brock chuckled.

"Chu pika!"

"I'm here to challenge you for my coin!"

"Oh and you think you can beat me? I'll have you know that I've gotten a lot and better and I beat you last time too."

"Well I've gotten better too!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Really?"

"Really!"

"Guys, can you just battle already." Brock said exasperated.

"Oh right. Brock, can you referee this match? My sisters are out."

"Sure thing Misty!"

And so the two combatants made their way to their respective sides of the battlefield while Brock walked to the referee box.

"This will be a three on three battle between Leader Misty and Challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet town. Since this battle is for the water coin rather than the cascade badge, neither side is allowed to make substitutions. The battle will be over when all three pokémon of one side are unable to battle."

"Go Starmie!"

"Ok then. A water and a psychic type. I choose you, Leavanny!"

Both Starmie and Leavanny entered the field. Leavanny towered over Starmie, but Starmie did not look intimidated at all.

"Oh Ash, I didn't realize you've been to Unova."

"Well then Misty, you're in for a shock! Leavanny use leaf blade!"

"Vanny!"

Leavanny charged at Starmie as one of its arms started glowing. Starmie jumped at the last minute and avoided the attack.

"Now Starmie, ice beam!"

Cold energy erupted from Starmie and was sent hurtling towards at Leavanny. Direct hit!

"No! Leavanny! Can you keep battling?"

"Lea." It struggled to get up.

"See, Ash? You can't win."

"We'll see. Quick, use razor leaf and then x-scissor!"

"Vanny, lea!"

As leaves hit Starmie, Leavanny charged at the unsuspecting starfish and aimed x-scissor straight at Starmie's core. Starmie struggled to get up and collapsed.

"Starmie is unable to battle! The winner is Leavanny!"

"Return Starmie! Wow Ash. I'm impressed! You actually managed to beat one of my pokémon! But you're not the only one with Unova pokémon. Go Jellicent!"

A large jellyfish like pokémon appeared in the pool.

"Finish off that Leavanny with shadow ball!"

"Cent!"

A dark glob of energy collided with Leavanny. Coupled with the damage from the ice beam, Leavanny collapsed on its platform and was unable to rise.

"Leavanny is unable to battle! Jellicent wins!"

"Alright then. Leavanny, return. You did a great job buddy! Go Sceptile!"

As Sceptile landed on a platform it pulled out a twig and started chewing on it.

"Shadow ball once more!"

"Counter with leaf storm!"

Most of the leaves collided with the glob of dark energy and canceled each other out. Some stray leaves ended up hitting Jellicent causing massive damage.

"Quick Jellicent, use will o wisp!"

Purple fire was sent hurtling at Sceptile. However, it didn't appear as though Sceptile had taken any damage.

"Okay then. Sceptile, use leaf blade!"

As Sceptile charged at Jellicent, its arm started glowing and Sceptile scored a direct hit on Jellicent's head. However, Jellicent got up second later without appearing to have taken a lot of damage.

"Ash, will o wisp burns a pokémon. That means that Sceptile's attack stat is lowered and that he takes damage every turn."

Sure enough, red aura surrounded Sceptile who then started to breathe heavily.

"He he. Oops. Then let's try a special attack. Use leaf storm!"

Once more, Sceptile summoned a large amount of leaves and sent them hurtling at Jellicent. Jellicent was too slow to dodge and took the attack head on. It resurfaced in the water with swirls in place of its eyes. Sceptile was once again surrounded by red aura.

"Jellicent is unable to battle. The winner is Sceptile!"

"Jellicent, return! Well Ash, you've managed to defeat two of my pokémon. Can you guess who's next? That's right. Go, Gyarados!"

The atrocious pokémon entered the pool and roared. Sceptile didn't even seem fazed in the slightest.

"Sceptile, use leaf storm once more!"

"Gyarados, use flamethrower. Burn these leaves to a crisp!"

Gyarados opened its jaws and unleashed a torrent of fire aimed straight at Sceptile and his leaves. The flamethrower attack scorched the leaves and kept going. It slammed into Sceptile who was propelled into the wall of the gym where he left a crater. Sceptile fell to the floor with swirls in its eyes.

"Sceptile is unable to battle! Both trainers are down to their final pokémon!"

_Gosh that Gyarados is tough. Misty wasn't kidding when she said she got tougher. I guess I'm gonna hope for the type advantage._

"I choose you, Pikachu!"

"Pika!"

"Alright Pikachu. Let's use thunderbolt!"

"Counter with flamethrower once more!"

"Pika!"

"Raah!"

Yellow electricity and red fire collided between the two pokémon. The attacks created an explosion which resulted in smoke. When the smoke cleared, both pokémon appeared unharmed.

"Thunderbolt again!"

"Counter with flamethrower!"

With similar results, Ash was forced to improvise. _Let's see. Attacking Gyarados directly isn't working. He just counters it with that flamethrower. I just have to figure out a way to hit Gyarados without actually aiming at him. Wait, that's it!"_

"Pikachu, use thunderbolt on the pool!"

"Pikaka chu!"

As Pikachu unleashed its electricity, the entire pool became covered in it. The light was so harsh that the three people had to turn away. When the light show ended, Pikachu stood on its platform breathing heavily and Gyarados was floating in the pool unconscious.

"Gyarados is unable to battle! Misty is out of pokémon which means that the winner is the challenger!"

"We did it buddy!" Yelled Ash as he hugged Pikachu.

"Wow Ash, you sure impressed me. I wish I could travel with you but I have to stay here to hand out coins. Speaking of coins, here's the water coin!"

In Misty's hand lay a small aquamarine coin with the words "The Commissioner's Cup" engraved around the edge of the coin.

"Woohoo! I just won the water coin!"

"Hey Misty, why don't you join as at the Battle Coliseum to watch the Commissioner's Cup live?"

"That's a good idea Brock. Once the Cup starts, I'll make my way to the Coliseum in order to see how poorly Ash will do."

"Hey! I'm going to win!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Will not!"

"Will too!"

"Guys, enough!"

"Sorry Brock." Ash and Misty said simultaneously.

"Hey you hear that?"

"What is it Misty?"

"It sounds like something is roaring which is weird because Gyarados is knocked out."

"That's just my stomach. I got hungry after battles."

As Misty, Brock, and Pikachu sweat dropped, Ash stood there rubbing his stomach.

"Why don't you guys have dinner with me and then you can head out tomorrow morning."

"Sounds like a plan, Misty."

"Yeah. I'm starving!"


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter Three

"Pi ka chuuuu!" Screamed Pikachu as he shot a bolt of electricity at the still sleeping Ash.

"OW! I'm up, I'm up!"

And so Ash, Brock, and Misty sat down to have breakfast. Even though this was Misty's home, Brock was forced to cook because let's face it, he's the best cook.

"Well Ash, I wish you luck in your next nine battles, and I'll see you at the Commissioner's Cup."

"Bye Misty."

"See ya Misty."

"Chu Pika!"

As Ash and Brock headed southward toward Saffron, Ash once again began to strategize for his next gym battle. _Let's see, Sabrina uses psychic type pokémon. Which means that Leavanny, Heracross, and Krookodile have the type advantage. That's three pokémon. I should be all set._

"So Ash, you ready to take on Sabrina? Because last time you barely beat her."

"I'll be fine Brock. I've got the whole battle planned out."

"You'd better. We've arrived at Saffron City."

Saffron City, of course, being the largest city in Kanto. The Silph Co. Building dominated the sky as it was the tallest building in Kanto and located in the dead center of Saffron. Saffron being the dead center of Kanto. As Ash and Bock made their way to the gym in northern Saffron, Ash thought back to how his last battle went. _I couldn't beat Sabrina without Haunter's help. But now I have pokémon that resist and are even immune to psychic. I wonder if she still has that Haunter?_

"Well Ash, we're here."

"Good. I can't wait to get the psychic coin."

"Then you just need eight more in order to participate in the Comissioner's Cup."

"Well. Let's get the second coin. Right Pikachu?"

"Pi chu ka!"

"Hello Ash. I had a vision that you'd come for your coin, and I am ready to battle."

"Hi Sabrina! I'm ready to battle too!"

And so Ash and Sabrina made their way to the battlefield. Brock sat down in the bleachers, and Sabrina's dad stepped up to the referee box.

"This will be a three on three battle between Leader Sabrina and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Since this is a battle for a comissioner coin there will be no substitutions on either side. The first side to lose all three of his or her pokémon will lose the battle. Ready and begin!"

"Go, Gardevoir!"

"I choose you, Leavanny! Take out Gardevoir like you did Starmie!"

Once more, Leavanny took to the field. After being healed by Nurse Joy, Leavanny was once again ready to lead Ash's team to victory. On the opposite side of the field stood a human like pokémon. They two pokémon sized each other up.

"Alright Leavanny. Start strong with x-scissor!"

"Dodge and use signal beam!"

Gardevoir neatly side stepped Leavanny and fired a signal beam that hit Leavanny square in the back. Leavanny was sent hurtling to the floor from the super effective attack, but he was able to get back up and on e more assumed a battle stance.

"Way to go Leavanny. We can still win this. Use string shot to tie up Gardevoir and then use x-scissor!"

"Leav!"

Sticky string erupted from Leavanny's mouth and quickly tied up Gatdevoir. Leavanny started to run at Gardevoir when Sabrina called out another attack.

"Psychic. Stop that Leavanny in its tracks!"

"Gar!"

"Try to overcome it Leavanny. Break through that psychic!"

"Leav!"

Due to the fact that Gardevoir was tied up, her aim wasn't what it usually was. Leavanny was able to break free from psychic and attacked Gardevoir with multiple x-scissors in a quick frenzy. When Leavanny stepped back, Gardevoir lay on the floor with swirls in place of her eyes.

"Gardevoir is unable to battle. The winner is Leavanny."

"Good job Ash. My Gardevoir is one of my most powerful pokémon. I don't usually use this next pokémon in battles, but I'll make an exception for this battle. Go, Gengar! Sludge bomb!"

A shadowy, purple pokémon appeared on the field and launched filthy sludge at Leavanny who was too tired to dodge.

"Leavanny is unable to battle! Gengar wins!"

"Return Leavanny! You deserve a nice rest. Hey Sabrina, did that Gengar evolve from the Haunter I gave you?"

"He sure did. I mostly just play with him. But he really likes to battle so I'll use him occasionally."

"Okay then. In that case, go Krookodile!"

"Krook!"

A giant crocodile like pokémon appeared on Ash's side if the field wearing sunglasses. Krookodile started growling when he saw Gengar.

"Crunch!"

"Energy ball Gengar!"

As Krookodile rushed at Gengar, Gengar summoned green energy in the shape of a sphere and chucked it at Krookodile. As the energy ball collided with Krookodile, Krookodile was sent hurtling back to Ash's feet. Krookodile then manages to get back up and roared at Gengar who just smirked in return.

"We need a fast attack. Use ariel ace!"

"Power up another energy ball!"

Once more, green energy was summoned in Gengar's hands. Before he could attack though, Krookodile slammed into him causing Gengar to lose his focus. The energy ball was dispelled.

"Now use crunch!"

Still stunned from the aerial ace attack, Gengar was unable to dodge Krookodile's gaping jaw.

"Gengar is unable to battle. Krookodile wins!"

"Good job Krookodile. Only one more pokémon to go!"

"And this is my most powerful pokémon. Go Alakazam! Use miracle eye!"

"Ala."

Alakazam stated down Krookodile who shivered in response. A purple aura surrounded Krookodile which cause the dark stripes on his body to disappear.

"Ash! Miracle eye is a move that allows psychic type moves to hit dark types! Your Krookodile is no longer immune to Alakaza's psychic abilities!"

"Thanks Brock. I guess we can still use dark type moves though. Crunch once more!"

"Stop the croc with psychic and smash it against the battle field!"

As Krookodile starting running towards Alakazam, Alakazam's eyes and spoons started to glow. Krookodile stopped in its tracks as an unfamiliar energy surronded him. Krookodile was then picked up and smashed against the floor which resulted in a dust cloud. When the smoke cleared, Krookodile was knocked out on the floor. Its dark stripes had also returned.

"Krookodile is unable to battle. Alakazam wins. Both truainers are down to one pokémon."

"I choose you, Heracross!"

A beetle like pokémon appeared on the field. Heracross brandished its horn before revealing its wings. Heracross then proceeded to hover in the air.

"Use mega horn!"

"Stop it with psychic!"

Heracross was stopped mid flight and was unable to move. However, Heracross wasn't sent hurtling back like Krookodile. The two pokémon were locked in a stand still. Heracross refusing to move back and not able to move forward. Alakazam able to hold Heracross in place but unable to send him back.

"Keep pushing Heracross! You can do it!"

Ash's words of encouragement were the catalysts that Heracross needed to overcome Alakazam's psychic abilities. Heracross rammed into Alakazam with its glowing horn, knocking out Alakazam with one hit.

"Alakazam is unable to battle. Heracross is the winner. Sabrina is out of usable pokémon. Which means the winner is the challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town."

"Excellent job Ash. Here's the psychic coin."

In Sabrina's hand lay a small light purple coin with the words The Commissioner's Cup engraved along it.

"Woo hoo! We just won a psychic coin!"

"Ash, I'd also like you to have this egg I found near Gardevoir recently. You gave me my Gengar so I think it's fair that I also give you a pokémon. Take good care of that egg and the pokémon that hatches from it!"

"Thanks Sabrina!"

And with that, Ash and Brock made their way towards Vermillion City and the ferry that would take them to the Johto region.

**Author's Note:**

**Hello all. This is my first fanfiction so constructive criticism is welcome. Would you guys like more descriptions of Ash's journey from city to city because I feel like I'm skipping from battle to battle. Please let me know and keep sending me suggestions. I listened to gamesharker and gave Ash a new pokémon. Well egg but you know. Next chapter will introduce a new arc, have Ash regroup for Johto, and revisit Gowly my OC. I have huge plans for this story. Getting the coins and competing in the Cup is only part of the story. Please leave a review. You cannot imagine how amazing it feels to get reviews. Thanks**

** -The Commissioner **


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

Chapter Four

"Petrel, Archer, Proton, Arianna. My office, now!"

The infamous leader of Team Rocket, Giovanni, had just called all of his admins to his personal office. After having returned from his failed attempt of capturing Unova legendries, Giovanni began to plot his next plot to get powerful pokémon and to take over the world.

"We're here boss." Announced Archer when the four admins entered Giovanni's office.

"Good. Here's our new plan. That idiot Gowly is hosting a new tournament where only the best trainers will compete. Plus, there will be various champions and elites there to watch. All of these powerful trainers will be in one spot just begging for Team Rocket to steal their pokémon."

"But sir, can we beat Cynthia and Lance? Not to mention Gowly himself who has never been bested in battle." Asked the ever nervous Petrel.

"You dare question my plan Petrel? But yes, we can beat them. Namba has been working on a new pokéball that automatically captures trainers' pokémon without fail. As soon as Gowly sends out his Lucario, it will be mine! Your job is to test out these pokéballs. Make sure they work. Try to re-capture a trainer's pokémon. Hop to it!"

"Yes boss." The four admins said as they saluted Giovanni. They then proceeded to exit the room and headed for Namba's lab, located on the lower levels of the Team Rocket headquarters.

"Excellent. Gowly won't know what hit him. Right Persian?" Giovanni asked as he stroked his pet cat.

"Purr..."

-Line Break-

"Well Ash, you now have seven pokémon counting the egg. You need to send at least one back to Professor Oak."

Ash and Brock were sitting in the Saffron City pokémon center. After a hard fought battle the day before, Ash and Brock decided to spend the night in Saffron. Ash had given his pokémon and the egg to Nurse Joy. She had promised that she'd be done healing the pokémon and giving the egg a checkup by lunch the next. Ash and Brock now had a couple of hours to kill until noon.

"Good point Brock. I forgot that an egg counts as part of a trainer's party. I think I'm going to exchange my whole team though to prepare for Morty and Clair. I'm definitely keeping Pikachu and the egg. I need to pick four more pokémon."

"Finally planning ahead Ash. Okay then. Let's see. You should Krookodile because he has the type advantage on Morty. Glalie and Gible also have type advantages against Clair. That's five. You need to pick one more Ash."

"I don't know which one. What do you think Brock?"

"Well. You have two pokémon for Clair and one for Morty. Let's focus on him then. Morty uses ghost types. If you go with a normal/flying type, it'll be immune to his ghost attacks, and it can still hurt Morty's ghosts with it flying type moves."

"Brock, I have a lot of normal/flying types. I guess I'll go with Staraptor. It's pretty strong and fast. That should give me the edge over ghost type pokémon who tend to be quick."

"Sounds like a plan. So now you need to pick up and exchange your pokémon. Then we'll make our way to Vermillion City. From there we'll buy tickets for Olivine City in Johto. We can then walk through Johto. And from Blackthorn we'll head south to New Bark Town and take a ferry to Slateport City in Hoenn."

"Wow Brock. Slow down! We haven't even left Kanto and you're already planning our Hoenn route."

"Well Ash, you're running out of time. The Cup is in a few months and your only 20% qualified."

"Don't worry Brock. I'll be fine."

"Paging Ash Ketchum to the front desk. Paging Ash Ketchum to the front desk."

"Looks like nurse Joy is done with my pokémon. Wait here Brock. I'll be right back."

Ash made his way to the front counter where Nurse Joy stood waiting with five pokéballs, one egg and one Pikachu.

"Well Ash, all of your pokémon are fine. I've also managed to identify the species and gender of the egg. It should be close to hatching. If you'd like, I could tell you. Or you could leave it as a surprise."

"Thanks Nurse Joy. I would like to know the species and gender of the egg." As Ash said this, he pocketed the five pokéballs, and Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder.

"Okay then. According to my tests, your egg should hatch into a healthy, make Ralts. Congratulations!"

"Oh boy! That sounds like a cool pokémon! Thanks again Nurse Joy!"

"My pleasure."

Ash then walked over the pokémon transfer machine while holding the egg in his hands. He sat down in front of the hi tech machine and dialed up the Oak Lab. After a couple of seconds, Professor Oak appeared on the screen.

"Hello Ash. How are you doing?"

"Hey Professor. I'm doing fine. I just won my second coin and I need to exchange pokémon for the Johto region. I'm going to send over Charizard, Sceptile, Leavanny, and Heracross. I'd like Glalie, Gible, and Staraptor in their place."

"Sure thing Ash. Let me just go get their pokéballs."

Ash sat waiting patiently while Oak went to go get Ash's requested pokémon. When the professor returned, he and Ash exchanged pokémon one by one. Ash then sent over Heracross to make room for the egg.

"Oh by the way Ash, Gary wanted me to let you know that he'll also be competing in the Commissioner's Cup. He just won his third coin at the Ectucreak Gym. Come on Ash. Gary hasn't been a trainer for years and he's beating you! You can do better than this."

"It's fine Professor. We've gotten over our rivalry. I think we'll remain civil during this tournament."

"I should hope so. Well, I have to go Ash. Good luck!"

"Thanks Professor!"

With that, Ash shut off the machine and made his way back to Brock. Ash had just pocketed his three new pokéballs and started to think about this new development. _Gowly did say that a lot of tough trainers were invited. It only makes sense that Gary got an invite. Hey, I bet Paul and Harrison got invites too. I might see them at the Battle Coliseum. It would be nice to re battle some of my old rivals. _Lost in his thoughts, Ash didn't realize that he had already reached Brock's table.

"You sure took your time getting here Ash."

"Hey Brock. You'll never guess what I just learned!"

"What? Addition?"

"Hey! That was one time years ago! Anyways, it turns out that Gary is collecting coins too. And, this egg should hatch into a male Ralts soon!"

"Interesting Ash. I have a feeling that you and Gary are going to battle at the Coliseum. But we need to talk about your new Ralts."

"How come?"

"Well, you've never trained a psychic type before and you're going to face a big decision when Ralts evolves into Kirlia."

"Why?"

"Like Eevee, male Kirlia can evolve into several pokémon. Either Gardevoir or Gallade. Since your Ralts is a male, you'll have to choose later. It's just that if you want a Gallade, then we need to be on the lookout for a Dawn Stone. That's the evolutionary item needed to evolve Kirlia into Gallade. They're found naturally in Sinnoh and Unova, but stores in the other regions have been known to occasionally carry these items. It's just something to think about."

"Okay. I think I'll wait until Ralts hatches, and then I'll ask him who he wants to evolve into."

"Sounds like a plan. Let's head out and make our way to Vermillion City."

With that, the two guys and Pikachu left the pokémon center after Brock tried to flirt with Nurse Joy only to be crushed when he found out that she was married. The trainer and doctor in training made their way south towards Vermillion with each preoccupied by his own thoughts. Ash thought about his next battle with Morty. Brock thought about single Nurse Joys, and Pikachu thought about ketchup. With all three lost in thought, they failed to realize that an evil trio was following them. Nor did they realize that what the next few feet of land was actually a large hole on the ground. Needless to say, Ash, Brock, and Pikachu fell through the hole.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double!"

"To denounce th-"

"Team Rocket!" Ash interrupted them.

"How do you twerp?! We didn't even finish our motto. You'll pay for this!"

"Jessie, why don't you calm down?" James tried to plea with the angry Jessie.

"Meowth. That's right. Now here's our new gizmo for grabbing that Pikachu." Meowth revealed some rubber robotic arm that took Pikachu. Pikachu's electric attacks were ineffective against the rubber hand.

"Give back Pikachu!"

"Never!"

"Pika!"

As Team Rocket stood there gloating, Ash and Brock tried to climb out of the hole but were unable to do so because it was so deep. All of a sudden, Ash's egg started to shake. All of the previous noise stopped as the four humans and two pokémon stared at the egg. Cracks started to appear in the egg, and a baby Ralts appeared just like Nurse Joy predicted.

"Ralts!" The small psychic type yelled out. His body then started to glow as his psychic abilities activated. Within moments, Pikachu was released from the hand.

"Quick Pikachu. Thunderbolt!"

"Pika chuuuu!" Electricity started running through Pikachu's body as he then sent it racing towards Team Rocket.

"Team Rocket's blasting off again!"

"Well that takes care of that. Good job Ralts!" Ash exclaimed as Ralts lifted himself, Ash, and Brock out of the hole. The quartet then proceeded to Vermillion City.

-Line Break-

Gowly sat in his office up in the Pokémon League HQ building. Pokémon Tower, as it was called, was the tallest building in the world and sat on Pokémon Isle across from the Battle Coliseum. Pokémon Isle being part of the Sevii Islands of course. The Commissioner was reviewing the notes from the last champions' meeting when Lance walked into Gowly's office.

"Sir."

"Hello Lance. I assume there's a reason for your visit."

"There is sir. Our informants have just informed me that Team Rocket plans to stop by during the Cup and steal some pokémon."

"Giovanni is predictable. Very well then. Lance, as second in command of the G-men, it's up to you to maintain security at all times. Feel free to coordinate with the other champions and elites. I'm also giving you access to however many Rangers you need. If Giovanni wants a fight, we'll give it to him. Well, get going Lance. Hop to it."

"Very we'll sir." Lance then stood to leave. Just as he was exiting Gowly's office, Lance spoke once more. "By the way, Ash now has two coins. He's on his way to get his third coin. Just in case you wanted to know." Lance then proceeded to walk out of the room.

Once more alone, Gowly thought to himself that everything was going according to plan now that it was confirmed that both Ash and Giovanni would be at the Cup. _Excellent. The correct time is approaching. Soon all of my secrets will be revealed, and Ash will realize why he's the Chosen One. Giovanni is about to lose everything and Ash will learn about his inheritance. Now all I have to do is wait. _


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

_**Pok**__**é**__**mon speech**_

Chapter Five

After more traveling, Ash, Brock, Pikachu, and the newly hatched Ralts finally entered the port city of Vermillion. The sun was shining brightly overhead, causing the beach to glisten. Ash and his pok**é**mon went to the local center to give Ralts a checkup. In the meantime, Brock went down to the port to purchase two tickets for Olivine City in Johto. As Ash was walking through the city, he realized that he had yet to ask Ralts what he would like to evolve into.

"Hey Ralts?"

"Ralts?"

"Since you're a male, you can evolve into two different pok**é**mon once you've become a Kirlia. It's totally up to you."

"Ral ralts!"

"So you want to be a Gallade. Okay then. I'll just look for a dawn stone so you can evolve when you want to."

"_Thanks Master!"_

"Wow! You talk?"

"_Yep. I guess I have the hidden ability of Telepathy. It just took a while to develop. Now I can translate everything that your pok__**é**__mon say to you!"_

"That sure is cool. Wait so I can now talk directly to Pikachu?"

"_Pikapi, do you understand me?"_

"_He should. My telepathy should extend to your entire on hand team."_

"This is so cool! We can now be even closer than before. Now I'll know exactly what you need."

"_That's our Pikapi, always putting his pok__**é**__mon's needs first."_

The trio continued on their way to the pok**é**mon center where Nurse Joy gave Ralts a checkup and confirmed that he possessed his hidden ability: telepathy. Trainer and pok**é**mon continued to talk while they made their way towards the pier and Brock. Along the way, the trio passed the Vermillion Gym. Although not carrying the electric coin, Lt. Surge was a powerful trainer in his own right and an old friend of Ash's. Ash decided that a quick visit to see Surge wouldn't hurt. When Ash walked into the gym, he was greeted by some new gym trainers.

"Oh looky, another baby trainer with two baby pok**é**mon!" The two neanderthals exclaimed.

Ash and Pikachu instantly remembered their first visit to the Vermillion Gym. They had received the same treatment. They knew that Surge would eventually show up and the insults would stop. Ralts, on the other hand, had never had this experience and thought that his friends were being threatened. And similar to the last time Ralts thought they were threatened, Ralts attacked with his powerful psychic abilities. The two gym trainers were sent hurtling against a wall. They then slid down to the floor into a mess of muscles, limbs, and stupidity. Ash and Pikachu stood there dumbfounded from Ralts's performance. Ralts stood there waiting for the next enemy to appear. He soon found a potential threat.

"What the heck is going on in my gym?" An aggravated Lt. Surge bellowed out when he saw his unconscious gym trainers.

All of Surge's screaming freaked out the poor Ralts who was readying another psychic attack. Ash, having recovered from his shock, noticed and told Ralts to stop.

_"But master, he is threatening us!"_

"He isn't the enemy Ralts. This is an old friend of mine, Lt. Surge!"

"Oh hello Ash. I didn't see you there. I was more concerned with my gym trainers."

"Sorry about that Surge. They started insulting us and Ralts freaked out. He just hatched recently and scares easily. Now Ralts, apologize."

_"I do not scare easily! I am a fierce warrior! Or I will be eventually. And sorry Surge. By the way Master, you're the only human who can understand me. My telepathy only works with one human. Other humans will just hear poké speech. I'm still developing my psychic abilities."_

_"No problem Ralts. It took me forever to master electricity. Right Pikapi? With practice, you'll be the most powerful psychic type out there!"_

_"Thanks Pikachu!"_

"Ralts said he's sorry. How are you Surge?"

"I'm doing fine. I see you still haven't evolved your Pikachu. I guess it's your choice but I probably would have evolved him by now. You've had him for years after all."

"As soon as Pikachu wants to evolve, I'll get a Thunder Stone. Well, it was nice seeing you. I have to get going to Johto. I'm competing in the Commissioner's Cup and I need to get the two Johto coins. It was nice seeing you."

"Don't remind me of that tournament. Stupid Volkner was entrusted with the electric coin. I should have been given that coin! Make sure you crush him!"

"You got it Surge! I'll see you later."

"Bye Ash. Good luck!"

The trio then left the gym. They were on their way to the ports when the saw Brock waving frantically. Ash picked up Ralts and Pikachu hopped on his shoulder. Ash then proceeded to sprint to Brock. Brock handed Ash a ticket and they jumped on the ferry minutes before it left port. Ash and co. explored the ship, as it would be their home until the next evening. That was when the ship was scheduled to dock in Johto. Until then, the group enjoyed a nice lunch, the pokémon played games, Ash relaxed in the pool, and Brock chased after girls in bikinis. After being rejected for the twentieth time, Brock got in the pool with a face red from all of the various slaps he received. Brock swam over to Ash and engaged in conversation over Ash's strategy and new pokémon.

"Ash, did you check what moves Ralts knows?"

"Oh shoot. I totally forgot. Once I get out of this pool, I'll scan him with my pokédex."

With that, Ash shot out of the pool. He ran for his towel and dried off. Grabbing his room key, Ash sped off towards his room that he shared with Brock. It wasn't especially big, but it housed two beds and a desk which took up most of the room. Ash quickly changed into regular clothes and grabbed his pokédex, which was resting on the desk. Ash rushed out of the room and started running around the ship before he realized that he didn't know where Ralts was located. Ash proceeded to the dining room because there was ketchup there. Pikachu would probably be there and Ralts was loathe to leave his surrogate big brother unless he was with Ash. Sure enough, when Ash walked into cafeteria, Pikachu and Ralts were sitting at a table in the back of the pokémon friendly restaurant. Ralts sat there staring wide eyed as Pikachu devoured more and more ketchup bottles.

"Pikachu, that's enough! You'll get sick."

_"But Pikapi, it's so good!"_

"Too bad. Do you remember the last time you ate too much ketchup. You were sick for a week. You need to be in top form for our battle with Morty. You should know better than this Pikachu!"

_"Sorry Pikapi."_

"As long as you stop. Now, onto why I'm here. Ralts can I scan you with my pokédex? That way, I'll know what moves you already know."

_"Sure thing Master. It won't hurt, will it?"_

"Nope. You won't feel a thing. Let's do it." Ash then proceeded to take out his pokédex and scanned Ralts. After a few seconds, the pokédex displayed its results.

"Wow! You already know psychic, shadow ball, and energy ball!"

_"But how's that possible if Ralts just hatched?"_

"I don't know Pikachu. Let's go ask Brock."

And so the trio set off in search of the doctor in training. He was no longer at the pool so the trio then went to the room they shared. When they got in, they heard the shower running which indicated that Brock was indeed in the room. Minutes later, Brock stepped out of the shower.

"Hey Brock. Listen, Ralts knows psychic, shadow ball, and energy ball. How's that possible if he just hatched?"

"Well Ash, we learned about this in medical school. When two pokémon mate, the child will inherit any moves the father knows that the child can learn. Since the mom is Sabrina's Gardevoir, we can assume that the father is another one of Sabrina's pokémon that knows those moves. Wait a second, didn't Gengar use energy ball and shadow ball? That means that Gengar is the father of Ralts!"

"Wow. So my former Haunter fathered my new Ralts. Cool!"

"No wonder Sabrina wanted you to have the egg. She probably knew it was Gengar's. Technically, the egg did partially belong to you."

The two humans continued to discuss strategy and such until it was time to sleep. Brock fell asleep on one bed while Ash, Pikachu, and Ralts went to sleep on the other bed. Ash had a very strange dream as he slept. When he awoke, all he remembered was that he was being chased by a Rypherior and a Lucario. Ash quickly forgot about his dream when he realized that he'd be facing Morty either later that same day or the next day. When everyone woke up, the quartet went down to breakfast and then exited the ship when it landed in Olivine City.

As the quartet traveled from Olivine to Ectucreak, Ash trained his pokémon when they rested. He had all of his pokémon practice dodging Ralts's shadow ball to simulate his upcoming match with Morty. The rest of Ash's pokémon were shocked when they realized that they could communicate with their trainer. Ash was even more shocked when he realized that Ralts was a very capable battler. After launches a series of shadow balls at Krookodile and seeing that they weren't very effective, Ralts transitioned to launching energy balls. These were super effective and Krookodile was knocked out.

Before long, the group made it to Ectucreak City. It was getting late, so they decided to spend the night at the pokémon center. After giving all of his pokémon to Nurse Joy, Ash joined Brock at the cafeteria. The two discussed some last minute strategies before Ash went to collect his pokémon. The group then went to sleep with Brock in one bed and Ash, Ralts, and Pikachu in the other. Ash once again had the same dream: he was being chased by a Rypherior and a Lucario. Only this time, it looked as though the Lucario was trying to protect Ash from the Rypherior. When Ash awoke, he didn't think too much of the dream because of his upcoming gym battle. And so Ash and Co. proceeded to the Ectucreak Gym after eating breakfast at the center.

The gym had not changed much from the last time that Ash was there. Once the quartet entered the gym, they noticed a blonde man training with various ghost type pokémon. His clothes were predominantly purple in color with a white scarf around his neck and upper body. When Morty realized that he had a challenger, he quickly recalled his pokémon and approached Ash.

"Hello Ash and Brock. Long time no see."

"Hello Morty." The two trainers replied.

"I assume you're here for your ghost coin."

"Yep."

"Be warned Ash. I have trained a lot of new ghost type pokémon that I didn't use in our last battle."

"That's fine Morty. I also have pokémon that are new."

"So be it. Let us proceed to the battlefield."

Morty walked over to the leader side of the gym while Ash and is pokémon moved to the challenger's box. A referee stepped up to the referee box in the middle of the field, and Brock walked over to the stands.

"This will be a three on three battle between Leader Morty and challenger Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town. Since this is a battle for a commissioner coin there will be no substitutions on either side. The first side to lose all three of his pokémon will lose the battle. Ready and begin!"

"Go Chandelure!"

"I choose you, Krookodile!"

The two Unovian pokémon faced each other on the field. Krookodile let out a fierce roar as Chandelure floated in the air patiently.

"Let's start strong! Use crunch Krookodile!"

"Wait for it. Now! Focus blast!"

As Krookodile charged at Chandelure, the ghost/fire type just stood there. Once Krookodile was close, Chandelure unleashed its focus blast which sent Krookodile flying, and it inflicted super effective damage against the poor Krookodile.

"You'll have to do better than that Ash!" Morty called out.

"Let's try the same move combo that defeated Gengar. Aerial Ace!"

Krookodile zoomed off in pursuit of the ghost/fire pokémon.

"Now, crunch!"

After striking Chandelure with a lightning fast attack, Krookodile and bit down on Chandelure, hard. However, a red aura surrounded Ash's Krookodile.

"Excellent, Krookodile is burned. Unfortunately, Chandelure can't take much more of this. Chandelure use Memento!"

Chandelure released a horrible scream and then collapsed to the floor, knocked out.

"Chandelure is unable to battle! The winner is Krookodile!"

"Now then, go Mismagius!"

_I wonder why Morty let Chandelure faint. Hmm. Whatever. Might as well end this now while we have momentum._

"Use crunch once more!"

Krookodile charged at Mismagius and bit her; however, Mismagius didn't even appear to be damaged. Then the red aura surrounded Krookodile once more and sapped him of his health.

"Come on Ash. You should now that memento lowers the attack and special attack stat of the opponent's pokémon. Plus, burns also lower your attack stat. Your Krookodile won't be dealing a lot of damage unlike my Mismagius. Now! Use energy ball!"

Mismagius launched the super effective attack at Krookodile who was too weak to dodge and collapsed knocked out.

"Krookodile is unable to battle! The winner is Mismagius!"

"You were excellent like always, return Krookodile!"

"_Master, I want to battle!"_

"You sure Ralts? You're still new."

"_I won't get any experience if I don't battle!"_

"True. Alright then. Ralts, I choose you!"

Ralts walked onto the field and glared fiercely at Morty's Mismagius. No one hurt Ash's pokémon and got away with it.

**Author's note:**

**Hello again. Sorry to leave you with a cliffhanger but I need more advice. Is this enough detail in between battles? Should I drag out the battles or have quick one hit knock outs? My main question though is what do you think of my OC Gowly? You'll see a lot more of him and Giovanni very soon. And please just leave a review saying what you think. I have 200 views and 7 reviews. That doesn't make sense. Please review! Thanks**

** -The Commissioner**


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.**

**Please note:**

_Pokémon speech_

**Jackie Walker is a pokémon ranger from the Temple of the Sea movie. **

**Domino is a Team Rocket agent from the movie Mewtwo Strikes Back**

Chapter Six

The two blondes had just entered Jackie's room when his communicator rang. As he answered the phone he didn't notice the woman place a bug on him. He then walked out of the room to answer the call.

"This is Ranger Walker."

"Hello Mr. Walker. This is Gowly."

"C-c-comissioner. Any particular reason for your call?"

"I have a very special mission for you."

"I'm ready to receive it."

"No I'm afraid not. This is a very sensitive mission. I will give you the details in person."

"But sir, I'm in Lilycove city right now. It will take me a few days to reach Pokémon Isle."

"No need Mr. Walker. I'm flying to Lilycove on my Salamence now. I should be outside your hotel in five minutes."

"You know where I'm staying?"

"Of course. Your styler also works as a GPS tracker. I know where every single ranger is at any given time. But enough of this. I have arrived." With a click the Commissioner hung up.

Jackie then proceeded to run out of the hotel. When he got outside, he saw a massive Salamence flying in. Most Salamences were already huge but the Commissioner's was even bigger. The sheer intimidation factor was enough to make most challengers faint. Jackie almost had a heart attack when he saw the giant dragon flying towards him. Fortunately, Salamce stopped just before hitting Jackie and landed. Gowly stepped off of his Salamence and recalled it to its pokéball.

"Mr. Walker. Lovely to see you in person."

"Hello sir."

"Now onto why I'm here. Do you remember your Manaphy mission?"

"Of course."

"Remember the boy you traveled with? Ash Ketchum?"

"Yes. What about him?"

"Here's your new, sensitive mission. Follow him. I fear that he is in danger, and it is vital for him to remain safe. Shadow him but don't make your presence known. He mustn't know that you're tailing him. Got it?"

"Why is he in danger?"

At this the Commissioner leaned in and whispered his answer to Jackie. Unfortunately, the bug was still able to make out what was being said.

"You can't be serious! He's a child. I don't think this is a good idea."

"That decision is mine and as your boss I'm ordering you to carry out my previous set of instructions. Follow the boy and protect him! Got it?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. I have a meeting with Wallace in Evergrande. I'm going there next via ferry. From there I'll fly to Pokémon Isle on Salamence. Ash is currently in Johto. Wait for him to arrive in New Bark Town. Then start following him. And don't let him see you! Oh, and here's a communicator that has my direct line. Call me if something goes wrong."

"Yes sir."

"Very well then. Good bye Mr. Walker and hop to it." With that, Gowly walked off without giving Jackie a chance to answer.

Grumbling to himself, Jackie returned to his hotel room. He walked into the room without looking at his fellow blonde.

"Sorry babe, but I got to run. But we could do it quickly."

"I'm afraid not ranger." The woman took out a black tulip from her pocket and shot electricity at Jackie. He was jolted and then collapsed to the floor. "And thanks for the juicy information. Giovanni will love to hear it."

"Who are you?" Jackie asked from his prone position on the ground.

"You can call me Domino." She kicked Jackie right between the legs and walked out of the room. She then took out her own communicator.

"Giovanni, it's me Domino."

"Yes Agent 009?"

"I have some pretty juicy information that you'll want to hear about."

"Okay then. Come down to HQ then."

"Right away sir."

Minutes later, Domino sat in a ferry headed for Kanto. By this time, Jackie had recovered from her attack and was calling the Commissioner.

"This is Gowly."

"Sir, it's Ranger Walker."

"What's wrong?"

"Someone listened in on our conversation. Someone knows about Ash."

"Describe this person."

"She's a blonde caucasian and she's pretty. Called herself Domino."

"Damn it! She's an agent of Team Rocket. Now Giovanni knows."

"That's not good."

"Good thing I'm still in Hoenn. Take my Salamence and fly to Johto. Salamence is faster than any ship. Once you've reached Ash, Salamence will fly back to me. Damn it Mr. Walker. You're supposed to be one of the best Rangers in the Union. How could you let this happen?"

"Well you see sir, I wa-"

"I don't want excuses! I want results! I've already sent Salamence. Find Ash and protect him. Don't screw up again! Am I clear?"

"Crystal."

"Good. Hop to it!"

After hanging up, Jackie went outside and waited for Salamence to show up.

-Line Break-

"You were excellent like always, return Krookodile!"

"_Master, I want to battle!"_

"You sure Ralts? You're still new."

"_I won't get any experience if I don't battle!"_

"True. Alright then. Ralts, I choose you!"

Ralts walked onto the field and glared fiercely at Morty's Mismagius. No one hurt Ash's pokémon and got away with it.

"Alright Ralts. Let's use shadow ball!"

"Counter with your own shadow ball Mismagius!"

The two shadow balls collided and canceled each other out. Ralts and Mismagius continued to launch shadows at each other, but they just ended up canceling each other out. By this point, Ralts was becoming frustrated. Mismagius, who had more experience, was keeping her cool.

"Enough of this. Mismagius, use shadow ball rapid fire."

Mismagius started firing shadow balls quickly. Ralts was unable to concentrate and was hit by several shadow balls. Ralts was thrown back and struggled to get back up. Just as the referee was about to declare Ralts unable to battle, Ralts managed to stand and a white aura surrounded him. In Ralts's place stood a slightly taller pokémon known as Kirlia.

"Good job Ralts, I mean Kirlia! Let's end this with a shadow ball!"

"Counter with your shadow ball!"

"Keep going Kirlia! Use psychic to stop Mismagius in its tracks."

"Stop Kirlia with your own psychic and end this with shadow ball!"

Although a psychic type, Kirlia was no match for Mismagius's experience. Kirlia was immobilized and then blasted with shadow balls. Even though he had recently evolved, Kirlia was still weak from the previous shadow balls and was knocked out.

"Kirlia is unable to battle. The winner is Mismagius."

At this point, Mismagius also collapsed.

"Mismagius is unable to battle. Both trainers are down to their final pokémon."

"Kirlia, how'd you do that?"

"_Just before Mismagius attacked me, I used my fourth move: destiny bond."_

"Which knocks out the opponent the opponent if the user faints. Genius!"

"_But I still lost. I failed you."_

"No you didn't. For your first official battle, that was great. Plus, you were going against a gym leader's pokémon. I'm proud."

"_Thanks master!"_

"You done stalling Ash? Meet my final pokémon, Froslass!"

"I'll take you down right now. Go Pikachu!"

"Start strong with ice beam!"

"Counter with thunderbolt!"

The beams of ice and electricity collided. Neither was making much headway against the other. Pikachu and Froslass were tied neck and neck until Ash came up with an idea.

"Jump and use iron tail."

Pikachu immediately stopped its thunderbolt, jumped up, and slammed its tail into Froslass's face. The super effective attack knocked out the frail ice/ghost pokémon.

"Froslass is unable to battle. The winner is Pikachu. The winner of the match is Ash from Pallet Town!"

"Congratulations Ash! Here's the ghost coin."

In Morty's palm lay a dark purple coin with the words the Commissioner's Cup engraved on it,

"We just won the ghost coin! Now it's time to win the dragon coin!"

**Author's note:**

**Sorry this so late. I'm not getting a lot of reviews and I'm losing my drive. I'll continue this story regardless, but updates will be slow. I have almost 300 views and 8 reviews. That's kind of sad. Getting more reviews will increase my motivation for writing. I have a lot of interesting ideas that I want to share with you all. Please review**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon**

Chapter Seven

After defeating Morty, Ash and co. left Ecruteak City. Arriving in Mahogany Town, Ash decided that the group would spend the night there and that he would train with Kirlia. Ash worked hard with Kirlia in order to perfect his psychic abilities. At first, Kirlia lifted small pebbles. Then, Kirlia was lifting big rocks. By the end of the night, Kirlia was able to levitate Ash for a few minutes before getting tired.

"I'm really proud of you Kirlia!"

"Thanks master! Is it okay that I'm tired now?"

"Sure it is! Let's get some sleep and then we should make it to Blackthorn City tomorrow."

"Okay."

With that, Ash and Kirlia went down to the bedroom that Ash shared with Brock. During the night, Ash once more had a strange dream. Once more, it centered around a Lucario and a Rypherior. This time, the Lucario was leading Ash through what appeared to be a cave or a mountain. The floor was tilted upwards so Ash assumed they were going up. Behind them, Ash could hear roaring and what sounded like a drill. All of a sudden, Ash tripped and fell. The Lucario took a protective stance and waited. Seconds later, a Rhyperior charged towards the injured Ash. Lucario protected Ash with various attacks. Rhyperior fought back. Ash continued sitting on the ground, helpless to stop the violence. Neither pokémon was giving in, but they both looked tired. Finally, Rypherior was able to move past Lucario's defenses and charged at Ash, drill spinning. Just as the Rypherior was about to put a hole in Ash, he awoke to bright sunlight streaming into the room through windows.

"Rise and shine Ash. Time to head out."

"Okay Brock."

The two breakfasted in the Mahogany Pokémon Center. The group then headed out to Blackthorn City for Ash's next coin. The trek took most of the day because they kept getting lost in the Ice Path. It didn't help that Ash kept slipping on the slick, slippery surface. By the time the quartet made it out of the Ice Path, it was dark outside and Ash was covered in bruises. The group did not notice that a blonde pokémon ranger started following then once they exited the cave. The group plus their stalker made it to Blackthorn City just in time for dinner. Ash and Brock had dinner in the cafeteria while the pokémon also ate. Jackie sat up camp outside the pokémon center and called Gowly to appraise him of the situation.

"Finally, Mr. Walker, some good news."

"Sorry about the earlier incident with Team Rocket, sir."

"Not your fault, Mr. Walker. Though I do wish you'd think with what's upstairs rather than what's downstairs."

"Sir!"

Gowly chuckled to himself. "Sorry Mr. Walker. Couldn't help myself. Now then, stay on top of Ash. I have a feeling that Team Rocket show up eventually. Do not reveal yourself unless absolutely necessary. Understand?"

"Yes sir."

"Good. Hop to it." Gowly hung up with a click before Jackie was able to respond.

The next day, Ash and Brock awoke refreshed after sleeping in a bed. No nightmares plagued Ash this night. Jackie awoke with his back and neck hurting but he sucked it up and focused on his mission.

The quarter (and Jackie) headed out to the gym so Ash could challenge Clair for the dragon coin. Clair didn't say a word when Ash walked in; she just strode to her side of the field. Ash then moved to his side as Brock moved to the stands. Jackie watched through a window. The referee walked to his box and gave the rules.

"This will be a three on three match. Neither side is allowed substitutions. The match will end once all three pokémon on one side have been defeated."

"Go Dragonite!"

"I choose you, Glalie."

"Smart choice Ash. Ice type moves deal quadruple damage to my Dragonite. Good thing I've got that covered. Use flamethrower!"

"Counter with ice beam!"

The two elemental beams were neck and neck. Neither side was giving an inch. Both Ash and Clair were worried. If ice beam overpowered flamethrower, the results would be catastrophic for Dragonite. The opposite was true if flamethrower won out. Clair, who was more of an action person anyways, broke the tie in her own unique way.

"Dragonite. End the flamethrower. Then, fly up and use draco meteor!"

"Dodge with double team!"

Dragonite shut off his flames, spread his wings, and flew straight up. He then proceeded to ready a draco meteor. Dragonite finally released his attack just as the number of Glalies multiplied. The different meteors managed to hit all of the Glalie that Dragonite could saw. However, the real Glalie was unharmed.

"Dragonite, watch out!"

"Use ice beam!"

From beneath Dragonite, Glalie emerged and shot an ice beam at point blank range. Momentarily stunned, Dragonite came crashing down to the floor. It was unknown whether the ice beam or the crash knocked out Dragonite.

"Dragonite is unable to battle. The winner is Glalie."

"Very nicely done Ash. Let's try this pokémon. Go Druddigon! Use brick break!"

"Dodge and use ice beam!"

"Stop that ice beam with dragon pulse. Now follow up with another brick break!"

Druddigon came out of its pokéball running with one claw glowing. Glalie jumped out of Druddigon's path and used ice beam. As the cold energy rushed at Druddigon, it charged up a dragon pulse and released it. The dragon pulse absorbed the ice beam which resulted in a massive explosion. Using the smoke as a cover, Druddigon readied another brick break and attacked Glalie who didn't notice the attack until it was too late. Taking a brick break to the head, coupled with the earlier damage from its battle with Dragonite, Glalie was knocked out.

"Glalie is unable to battle. The winner is Druddigon."

"Good job Glalie. Return. Let's go, Staraptor! Start strong with brave bird!"

"Dodge and use dragon pulse!"

A blue and red aura surrounded Ash's Sinnoh flying type as it descended on Druddigon. Druddigon was able to dodge in time and launched a dragon pulse at Staraptor's back. The attack sent Staraptor hurtling at the nearby wall. Staraptor managed to recover quickly and flew back to Ash's side of the field.

"Now use aerial ace to get close and then follow up with close combat."

"Let it come close and then wait for my command."

Staraptor took off at lightning fast pace and flew straight at Druddigon. After slamming into Clair's dragon, Staraptor readied its wings and claws for close combat. However, just before Staraptor attacked her dragon, Clair issued the command that Druddigon had been waiting for.

"Use outrage at point blank range!"

A red aura surrounded Druddigon who then smashed into Staraptor repeatedly. The powerful dragon attack proved too much for Staraptor who fell to the ground with swirls over its eyes.

"Staraptor is unable to battle. The winner is Druddigon."

"Return Staraptor. You were great. Now let's go, Gible! Use dragon pulse!"

"Counter with your dragon pulse, Druddigon!"

_Ash is running a huge risk. _Brock thought to himself. _Dragons strong against other dragons which means they're also weak to dragon attacks. Gible is smaller so it's more agile and more likely to dodge, but it's not evolved so its power is lower. Against Druddigon, who doesn't evolve, that shouldn't be a problem. Unfortunately, Clair still has one more pokémon, and I'm pretty sure I know what that pokémon is and it is fully evolved. I hope Ash knows what he's doing. These battles are getting harder each time. _

"Good job Gible. Use dig!"

"Charge another dragon pulse and prepare to strike Gible once it appears."

"Now Gible! And use draco meteor!"

Gible erupted from beneath Druddigon who was sent flying up into the air. Shocked, Druddigon ended up swallowing his own dragon pulse which caused massive damage. Gible's comets then sent the poor dragon hurtling back down to the ground. Druddigon landed in a massive crater and once the smoke cleared, everyone could see how Druddigon was laying on the ground unconscious.

"Druddigon is unable to battle. The winner is Gible."

"Return Druddigon. Good job Ash. You managed to defeat a newly evolved pokémon and a new pokémon. Now let's see if you can defeat one of my most reliable pokémon. Go Kingdra! Start off with a dragon pulse."

"Dodge Gible and use dig!"

Kingdra fired up a dragon pulse and sent it hurtling towards Gible who jumped out of the way and burrowed its way under the ground.

"Kingdra, use dragon pulse on the hole that Gible just dug. We'll flush him out and then follow up with draco meteor!"

"Gible! No!"

Gible jumped out of the ground to avoid being hit by the dragon pulse only to be slammed by the comets that Kingdra summoned. The force of the attack sent Gible flying back towards the hole that it just exited. No one could see Gible so it was uncertain if Gible had survived. Just as the referee was about to raise his flag, a white light could be seen from the whole. Seconds later, a Gabite emerged from the hole and jumped onto the field.

"Yes! You evolved Gabite! Now use draco meteor once more!"

This time Kingdra was struck by Gabite's comets and was knocked out.

"Kingdra is unable to battle. The winner is Gabite. Clair is out of usable pokémon so the winner of the match is the challenger!"

"Congratulations Ash! You've beaten me once more. As proof of your victory, I present to you the Dragon Coin."

"Yay! We just won a Dragon Coin!"

"_We did it, Master!"_

"_Good job, Pikapi!"_

As Ash was posing with his new coin, Brock came down from the stands to congratulate him. Finally, the group left the gym and made their way to the Blackthorn Pokémon Center. There, Ash gave his pokémon to Nurse Joy so that she could heal them. In the meantime, Ash and Brock decided on their next destination.

"We can head down south via Route 45 and 46. Then we head east via Route 29. That should take us to New Bark Town. From there, we can catch a ferry to Slateport in Hoenn. Then we'll have to walk to Petalburg."

"Sounds like a plan. Now I just gave to exchange pokémon with Professor Oak. Let's see, Pikachu and Kirlia stay no matter what. Infernape and Heracross should defeat Norman. Glalie and Pikachu have the advantage over Winona. That's five. I need one more."

"How about Charizard?"

"How come?"

"Winona is a master of aerial battles. You might need a pokémon who can fly in order to battle her in the air."

"Okay then. Charizard it is then."

"Paging Mr. Ash Ketchum to the desk. Your pokémon are ready for pick up." Nurse Joy announced over the PA system.

"Guess it's time to make that exchange."

"Here you go!"

"Thanks Nurse Joy!"

And so Ash went down to the exchange machine and called up Professor Oak. After exchanging pleasantries and exchanging pokémon, Oak updated Ash on Gary's progress.

"He now has five coins, so you're only one behind. Don't worry Ash, you'll catch up before the Cup."

"You're right Professor. I'll meat Gary at the Cup and crush him!"

"Way to have confidence Ash but don't underestimate my grandson. He's been researching while you've been training, but he has decent experience."

"Okay Professor. I can't wait until we battle."

"Me neither. Your mom and I have already bought tickets to see it all live so we'll be there. Don't disappoint."

"I won't Professor. Bye!"

"Bye Ash."

And so Ash and Brock decided to spend the night at the center before departing for New Bark Town the next day.

_Line Break_

"Hello Domino."

"Greetings Giovanni."

The boss of Team Rocket and the elite officer were meeting in Giovanni's personal office. Some wine had been poured out for the two villains.

"So Gowly thinks that Ash is the child of the prophecy. Hmm."

"What prophecy Giovanni?"

"A prophecy that can summon the most powerful pokémon in the world to this dimension. It requires a child who is pure of heart and strong. Gowly knows that Ash is pure of heart and he's obviously a child. The point of the Cup is to see if Ash is powerful."

"So if Ash wins, Gowly can summon out the powerful pokémon?"

"You're half right my dear. If Ash wins, _I'll_ summon out the powerful pokémon."

"You can perform the ritual?"

"Of course. This is actually good news. The pokéballs that Namba created failed. But, we're still going to the Cup. Stealing pokémon will be a distraction from our two main objectives."

"What are they?"

"First, we must get the boy. Domino, I want you to track him. Don't let that ranger know you're there. Just make sure the boy stays in one piece so that he can prove himself. If he wins the Cup, you need to stick close so you can abduct him while the grunts try to _steal _pokémon. Once you have him secure on a chopper, we can evacuate back to HQ so I can perform the ritual."

"What's the second objective?"

"Our second objective my dear, is to prevent anyone else from performing the ritual."

"But there are billions of people on this planet. How can we possibly stop all of them? And how will going to the Commissioner's Cup achieve this?"

"Quite simple my dear. Apart from me, only Gowly knows of the ritual. Cynthia may know the general ideas since she's an expert in mythology, but only Gowly and myself know the exact ritual."

"So all we have to do is prevent Gowly from getting the boy and performing the ritual? But how do we do that?

"Once again, quite simple my dear. Our first objective is to secure Ash and bring him here so I can perform the ritual. Our second objective is a failsafe as well as a bonus. If we are unable to get the boy, then we need insurance that Gowly cannot perform the ritual and summon out that pokémon. That pokémon _can and will_ bring an end to Team Rocket."

"It's that strong?"

"It is. That's where the second objective comes in." Giovanni paused and took a sip of his wine. He then turned around to stare out the window. With his back to Domino, Giovanni continued his monologue. "Our second objective will be to kill Gowly."


End file.
